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Abdullah Sayeem
Abdullah Sayeem is a former member of the Mechanical Subteam of Cornell ChemE Car. He joined the team in Fall 2012 and left in Spring 2015 upon graduation. Background Hailing from New York City, Abdullah Sayeem is currently studying Mechanical Engineering. He has been part of ChemE Car and the Mechanical team since Fall 2012 and has been part of three award-winning cars. Besides ChemE Car, Abdullah has professional experience from research labs and engineering internships. Outside the lab, Abdullah enjoys watching films, playing basketball and long walks on the beach. Fall 2012 I joined ChemE Chassis subteam near the end of September 2012. As Nationals were coming up fast, Stephanie introduced me to the Chassis team members and I familiarized with the various components of ChemE Car and the lab. At that time, we had the basic chassis build finished, and our main goal was to draw up ideas for the battery box. I was tasked to design a battery box, with the purpose to safely store three (or more) batteries. To begin, I approached the design with a minimalist view. I wanted to use materials already available to us in the lab with spending any extra cash. The build would use materials available to us, like acrylic, velcro, hinges, epoxy or hotglue, copper sheets, springs and wires. The pros also included that the design would provide both a “snug-fit”. The holes for the wire were located high in the box to avoid any safety concerns. The velcro made the lid easy to open and close. However there were some cons, namely maneuvering and placing the wires with the batteries placed would be difficult. Also, if “snug-fit” was prioritized, taking the batteries would be difficult as well. With the battery box coming along, we multitasked to troubleshoot the car (which was going through calibrations). We had some problems, including the car not going fast enough and having a drift (not going straight). The team got together and thought of sources of problems, which included a slow gearbox and uneven back axle for the respective problems. We ran the car ourselves and witnessed the drift. Over the week, I attended calibrations whenever I had free time to help both battery and chassis team troubleshoot any problems or help run the car. This was especially helpful to me as I saw how different subteams came together to run one car. For Fuel Cell car, I was first tasked to find a cheap, yet strong sheet metal for chassis usage. I found some unpolished steel, nickel-coated sheet and galvanized zinc sheet. I was also became an “apprentice” under Dana to work with her with the Fuel Cell car and learn from her about more advanced chassis subjects. Part of our subteam, including me, met up with the Fuel Cell team to determine the power output of the fuel cell. This meeting, we decided to also measure the torque and RPM of motors. While we had a proposed plan to measure the RPM, I chose to try my hands using an Arduino to measure the RPM. I got myself an infrared sensor from a friend and wrote an Arduino code to measure a motor’s RPM using light. The sensor senses light from any object in front of them. They turn this fata into voltage readings, which is read by the Arduino. The disc, attached to the motor axle, is plainted all black and has a single slit. The sensor, this, has a higher reading when it passed the slit (because it senses a "whiter" light). The disc is attached to the motor axle and spins as the motor is powered by a battery. The sensor, connected to the Arduino, this indirectly connected to a computer, senses light readings off the disc.The code uploaded on the Arduino reads the voltage outputs and separates them into two categories: black and white. Thus, every time "white" is detected, it adds to a rotation count. The program is run for a set amount of time. The rotation count and the running time is then converted into rotations per minute, or RPM. Spring 2013 Coming into the new semester, I was tasked with the design and fabrication of the new battery car. On a whole, it made the design better, as there were fewer wheels, which meant less work for the motors. In the middle of redesigning the battery car, Battery team seemed like they were going for two different batteries. Therefore, I chose to make two battery boxes, one housing Aluminum-Carbon, the other housing the Lithium. Regarding the drive train, the new one will be different, as it will be mounted horizontally instead of vertically. With the car and battery boxes ready, the Battery team started calibrating the battery car. One problem that came up was a slight drift. The axles were aligned perfectly (thanks to the laser cutter), so the drift wasn’t due to the axles. After eliminating floor disturbances (by testing the car on different floors), I found the source of the problem to be weight distribution. After distributing the weight of the car, which includes the battery boxes and potion housing, around the center of mass, the car had little to no drift. I also used new springs, velcro, metal hinges and copper to better the electrical setup of the battery car. The coppers were now removable, which allowed for fast and easy replacements of any corroded copper. Using the drill press at the lab, I made small passes on the battery casings for better wire placements. I was surprised and honored to be part of the group going to competition. I learned a lot from competition, from the professional intricacies to the unknowns presented during the time there. During my time there, I partook in the poster presentation, talking about the mechanical aspects of the new battery car. I also entered the Jeopardy competition, placing first place with Vito, Hanna, and Michael Charles. For past semesters, we’ve primarily using the Emerson machine shop to cut our acrylics. It was a great resource, but it had its downsides, such as human error, warping and time. I researched the laser cutter at Rand Hall and learned their open hours. I started tests on the tolerance of the laser cutter. What I learned was surprising: the laser width would change under different conditions. Furthermore, the amount of time the laser’s been used that day affects the diameter of the laser. Adding to that, the lasers often have “spikes” of behavior, going from strong output to weak output in seemingly random patterns. Fall 2013 In past semesters, the Mechanical team (previously known as Chassis) lacked adequate organization. I’ve worked on building and expanding on our Google Drive folder to record and archive our information. This includes recording Deliverables and Meeting Minutes weekly. Also, I’ve started an ongoing Archive process to record all of our cars, which would include their log and CAD files for easy access. Along with the Electronics lead, Christine Soong, I organized and led the pre-Nationals car-off to determine the Nationals car. We conducted research on potential spots and detailed our judging process for full fairness. Once the final car was chosen, I actively participated in the calibrations process of the Nationals car. During calibrations, I worked on both the mechanical and the power ends of the car, troubleshooting any problems that rose up (such as implementing a fourth battery). I’ve started the Mechanical research and development movement to further our knowledge and expand our talents. I’ve started various projects, led by small groups for efficiency. These are detailed in the Research and Development section. I’ve worked on the design of the designing the prototype car, coming up with the innovative hood panel. This idea is expanded upon in the Research and Development section. With our old process mostly untouched, I updated some of our more recent projects, such as Laser Cutting Guides, to include our new information. Upon request by our advisor, Professor Zia, I conducted a failure analysis on our Nationals car, going over what could go wrong, its effects, their severity and how to mitigate them. Spring 2014 I’ve continued the work on building and expanding on our Google Drive folder to record and archive our information. This includes recording Deliverables and Meeting Minutes weekly. Also, I’ve started an ongoing Archive process to record all of our cars, which would include their log and CAD files for easy access. With the final cars chosen and built, I actively participated in the calibrations process of the Battery and Fuel Cell cars. During calibrations, I worked on both the mechanical and the power ends of the car, troubleshooting any problems that rose up (such as implementing a fourth battery). This year I personally designed the first design for the stacked cell battery box. It was a simple box design, incorporating two stacked cells. However, unlike previous years, the battery would not be compressed by the battery box: the two components remain independent. This makes troubleshooting easier, since if one becomes faulty, the other remains unaffected. I’ve continued the Mechanical research and development movement to further our knowledge and expand our talents. Continued projects include building the prototype car, electrical housing, wheel research, and new projects include constructing new drivetrains and exploring new chassis design. These are detailed in the Research and Development section. I’ve worked on the design of the designing the prototype car, coming up with the innovative hood panel. Most recently, it was bringing in the hood-car idea as the new prototype and starting the Emerson Laser cutter guide. Continuing Professor Zia’s guidelines from last year, a thorough FMEA was made for the regional cars. I’ve had help from the two car leads, Dhruv and Ashley, and wrote the final version before Regionals. My FMEA for both Battery and Fuel Cell car is posted below. I put together a powerpoint presentation for the Mechanical team to highlight our inner workings, methodology, current progress and future plans. The slides are posted below. Following our inventory last year, the lab was cleaned up this semester. We labeled our cabinets and inventoried the tools and resources at our disposal. Most of the items have not moved, but a few has been relocated. I noted all the mechanical items in our lab, and the inventory is shown at a section below. Fall 2014 I’ve worked on the design process, production, research and development, and administrative aspects of the team. This semester was especially a stressful one with many requests and projects on my plate with a much smaller team. The team is very efficient by having certain members working with different Power teams. Unfortunately, I felt the team drifting apart; a few members felt stranded and not part of a team. The meeting minutes rotation helped a lot by exposing members to the other Power teams, and thus bringing the team more together. Also, I had members discuss their problems with the team in our meetings more, so we had solutions coming from the entire team. Lastly, I have the team work with pairs or trios for various R&D and side projects so the team develops more personal relationships. To ease the volunteers into the Mechanical team, I came up with a two-week training program for future volunteers so that they can fit easier and faster into the team. The training consists of two parts: first part teaches them some important analytical subjects; the second part introduces them to the physical production process. The training is posted in the next section. Starting with organizing the car-off, Nationals preparation was a big part of my job this year. Although car-off ended rough, we continued to prepare the Fuel Cell car for competition. I checked in every other day to make sure all the Mechanical parts were working properly. Before the actual competition, we were hit with an obstacle about requiring a blast shield for the Fuel Cell car. I quickly gathered a small team consisting of myself, Ashley and Herman to run analytical calculations which proved that with the given safety rating, we were well beyond safe. Regardless, I had Ashley draw up designs for an acrylic casing for the hydrogen manifold then produce it via laser cutting. As required each year, I drew up the FMEA for the Nationals car. It was mostly the same from last year, with a few tweaks. We developed the prototype car ideas into two new cars this year (as described in my slides later). I was directly involved with designing and building the Pressure car since it was more ambitious and difficult process. The design itself went through three iterations before confirming it for production. Designs for the Wedding car were finished last year, but no one was on the production work, so I took it up personally to cut the final parts. The last hurdle was assembling the drivetrain, which proved to be more difficult than expected. I came up with a simple set screw plan to fasten the wheels, hubs and shaft, and used washers for spacing. The car is now ready to be shipped out. As part of the ongoing endeavor to find more resources for the Mechanical team, we’ve now successfully added two new locations. Emerson now has its own laser cutting lab, which also contains 3D printing as a resource. I’ve tested both the laser cutting and 3D printing parts out and hopefully streamline the process by next semester. Also, we found another machine shop resource in Clark Hall where they take requests for money. We also tested this with a side TEG project to get ourselves exposed and familiarized. I put together a second PowerPoint presentation for the Mechanical team to discuss the two new cars we’ve build: the new Battery and Pressure car and the ideas behind them. Spring 2015 External Links * Category:Mechanical Category:Members Category:Mechanical Members Category:Fall 2012 Members Category:Spring 2013 Members Category:Fall 2013 Members Category:Mechanical Subteam Leaders Category:Subteam Leaders Category:Fall 2013 Subteam Leaders Category:Spring 2014 Members Category:Spring 2014 Subteam Leaders Category:Fall 2014 Members Category:Fall 2014 Subteam Leaders Category:Spring 2015 Members Category:Spring 2015 Subteam Leaders